The result forced the Tories into a £1bn deal with the Democratic Unionist Party to keep them in power.

Johnson admitted the election "did not evolve entirely in the way the government had hoped" – but said there was no appetite for a change in leader.

He said: "What the British people want to see is a government that gets on with the job and they've got that with Theresa and we are going to deliver a great Brexit deal.

"A deal that works for our European friends, for the UK, but also works for New Zealand.

"What the British people want to see is us getting on with the job. They see no need for any more political kerfuffle."

New Zealand's foreign minister Gerry Brownlee, also at the event, added there is a "strong interest" in concluding a free trade agreement between the two countries, after Britain gains the right to sign such deals after Brexit.